The Stoic and the Idiot
by AbsintheJade21
Summary: A series of drabbles all revolving around Doumeki and Watanuki. Friendship? Yes! Romance? Definately! Enjoy!
1. The Moon and the Stars

I don't own xxxHolic, but I am a huge fan!

I've also become a huge fan of large drabble collections lately. It's a great way to exorcise those pesky plot bunnies. This will eventually be a drabble collection (not in the true sense because I'm not talented enough to write in less than 100 words) about Doumeki and Watanuki's relationship.

**#1. The Moon and the Stars.**

_"Aim for the stars because when you aim for the stars, you will reach the moon." -unknown_

"I want _narezushi_ tommorow."

Doumeki watched with an odd feeling of happiness as Watanuki's face turned at least three shades of purple. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Watanuki shook his bony fist in front of Doumeki's face.

"That's impossible! Don't ask for things that aren't possible for me to do!" After this outburst

The familiarity of it warmed Doumeki. The fact that Watanuki had assumed he'd asked, the assumption that Watanuki was going to make a bento for him the next day, even the yelling and screaming that Doumeki could hear clearly from behind his fingers, which were shoved firmly into his own ears. Watanuki could be very loud, after all.

"…the fish has to ferment for AT LEAST half a year before pickling AGAIN for ANOTHER YEAR…you'll be lucky if you get cooked rice! Maybe I'll just throw the dry grains into a bento and see how you'd like it you smug bastard!"

Watanuki raved and fumed as Doumeki wordlessly followed him to his apartment, where Watanuki slammed the door in his face. Doumeki could still hear the boy ranting from behind the door as he turned to leave.

The next day, his expression emotionless as ever, Doumeki unwrapped the largest and most elaborate bento he had ever seen.

"Wow Watanuki-kun! These bento look amazing! This must have taken you hours!"

"Anything for you, Himawari-chan!" Watanuki exclaimed clasping his hands together and gazing adoringly at her.

Doumeki swallowed his urge to smile. Instead, he opted for reaching across the picnic and choosing a piece of squid, prepared for the yelling that would soon follow.

**A/N:** _Narezushi_ is an older style of fermented sushi that takes well over a year to pickle and ferment.


	2. The Night Watch

**#2. The Night Watch.**

_"Night, when words fade and things come alive."- Antoine de St. Exupery_

Nearly half of a year previous, Shizuka Doumeki's mother, confused, had agreed to hold a 'ghost story night' at the request of her son.

Every night after that day, she had found herself pretending to be oblivious to the fact that her son would wordlessly slip out of the house just before midnight.

On this particular night, she had decided to follow him. She wasn't worried about her son, she simply was curious to see what had captivated his attention. She rationalized this to herself by thinking that Shizuka rarely confided in anyone, and rarely showed interest in anything.

After many blocks, she followed him to the upper level of an apartment complex. He paused at the door, peeling something off of the front of it, before firmly placing another piece of paper onto it. Without knocking, he strode into the apartment.

Quietly, she crept along the balcony, stopping in front of the door that her son had disappeared behind. The nameplate on the mailbox, in very neat calligraphy, said 'Kimihiro Watanuki.' Beside it, nearly glowing in the moonlight, she saw the handmade paper seal, meant to ward off evil spirits, her son had placed on the door.

She leaned up on her tiptoes and peered through the curtains in an open window. There was no light coming from the apartment, but as the breeze gently rustled the curtains she saw the dark figure of her son, sitting quietly beside a bed.

"Don't disappear." She heard her son say firmly.

**A/N:** Antoine de St. Exupery is one of my favorite authors. Thanks for reading!


	3. The Peace Keeper

CLAMP owns xxxHolic and a number of other wonderful manga.

I own…copies of these wonderful manga.

**#3. The Peace Keeper**

_"He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees." –Benjamin Franklin_

Sometimes Kimihiro Watanuki saw strange things.

Strange things like people lurking around corners in school, people darting, as shadows, from beyond his door, and every time Watanuki looked out of a window, he would swear that he could see a dark figure disappearing into a nearby bush or convenient object.

This was in addition to the ghosts and spirits he saw on a regular basis.

After one of these odd occurrences, Watanuki walked outside of his apartment to investigate, only to find a deerskin _yugake_ littered on the ground. It was a glove that only a practicing archer would use.

It then occurred to Watanuki; the disappearing shadows always happened when Doumeki wasn't around.

The next morning, Watanuki waited outside his apartment, roughly shoving a large bento into Doumeki's hands when he arrived. Doumeki looked down at him, expressionless.

Watanuki opened his mouth to say something, and nothing came out. Not the usual yelling, and not a 'thank you.'

He was unable to express his gratitude. It wasn't that he wanted Doumeki to save him all the time, and he certainly had never asked the archer to do so. As Watanuki gazed into the archer's hooded eyes, one iris far dimmer than the other, this thought irritated him, and he found himself momentarily swelling up with anger.

Taking a deep breath, he remembered what he was grateful to Doumeki for, and forced himself to relax his shoulders.

Finally, for once in his life, he could think with conviction that he wasn't alone. Even if the person who kept him company was someone who irritated him like no one else, Watanuki was not alone anymore.

Of course, there was no reason that Doumeki needed to know. The last thing that smug bastard needed was another thing to hold over Watanuki's head.

"There's _tamago_ in it," Watanuki said grudgingly. "It's one of your favorites, right?"

**A/N:** Thank you to Kitty and jellyD for their reviews! I like 'The Night Watch' better too!


	4. The Rainy Day Man

Yay! A drabble update! I'm hoping to get a few up in honor of Watanuki's b-day. This one's a bit spoiler-y so skip if you want to!

xxxHolic is not owned by me, but by CLAMP, Production I.G., Kodansha, and many other companies I'm sure.

**#4. Rainy Day Man**

_"Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain." -unknown_

It was an ordinary day.

Shizuka Doumeki woke up early, as always, and quickly did his chores. He quietly prepared coffee and tea for breakfast before turning to bow and say 'goodbye' to his grandmother, the only other person in his house who was awake.

It was an ordinary day but it was raining. This did not stop Shizuka from his daily morning run, although it did shorten it somewhat. So much so, that when he returned to the temple his grandmother was still the only one awake.

Shizuka loved routine. The thoughts of taking a longer bath, eating breakfast a bit slower, or going back to bed never crossed his mind. Instead, he took a bath, ate his breakfast, and left for school. He would be early to school, but it would give him a chance to clean out his shoe locker. For whatever reason, girls he'd never talked to kept slipping love notes in it.

It was an ordinary day, but Shizuka was earlier than usual. He decided to take a longer route to school. One that took him by the river. As he walked up the hill over the riverbanks he saw a dark figure at the water's edge. He quickly recognized the uniform from his school, although the boy was so pale and standing so still he could have easily been mistaken for a statue.

Shizuka walked closer. The boy had apparently forgotten his umbrella and the rain poured down his body in many rivulets, pooling in his arms as he held a cat. Shizuka stopped. He recognized the pale boy from school. He was quiet and rarely spoke up in class, although there was one girl that he seemed friendly and loud with.

"I will…die like this too. All alone," the boy slowly spoke.

Shizuka continued to stare at the boy for a moment before slowly walking away. His eyes remained expressionless, but something inside his head clicked. A variation in his routine. He would watch over this other boy, because no one should die alone.

It was an ordinary rainy day. After completing his morning routine, Shizuka Doumeki had taken the long way to school. He had passed by a classmate he hardly knew. And when the two passed each other on the stairs later that day, Shizuka turned to stare at the boy. Before Shizuka could open his mouth, or even think of anything to say, the boy erupted into a wet cloud of flailing limbs and screeching yells.

"Just what are you staring at you big creep! Gah! That look on your face just makes me want to…"

Caught off guard, Shizuka managed to dodge Kimihiro Watanuki's kick gracefully, and all without changing his facial expression.

**A/N:** the title "Rainy Day Man" is also the song title of a song that plays in a dubbed episode of 'Sailor Moon R.' Wash, that's for you buddy.

ToxiChick13, and yuMeNami, thanks a lot for your reviews! I love drabble collections too so hopefully I'll be able to reach some insane amount for Doumeki and Watanuki.


	5. The Past Self

This alludes to an episode of Cardcaptor Sakura. Usually I don't go on the animeverse and focus on the mangaverse, but I've always loved this episode. The quotes are paraphrased and not direct.

As always, xxxHolic does not belong to me.

**#5. The Past Self**

_"You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer ahead and forge yourself one." – James Froude_

It's cold and Watanuki shivers involuntarily. Looking wildly around, he realizes that he is no longer walking to school with Doumeki stalking silently behind him.

Instead his is in a large house, possibly a hotel, surrounded by dozens of giggling children.

One girl is shivering and walking slower than the others. She looks like a younger version of someone Watanuki knows, but like many other things, he is unable to remember. Watanuki smiles as he notices a brown-haired boy watching her with concern. He waits for the brown-haired boy to talk to her, comfort her, but he doesn't and they're almost to the bedrooms.

"If you didn't like scary stories," Watanuki finds himself speaking up, "You should have said something. I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be so affected."

The words spill out of Watanuki's mouth and despite the fact that he barely knows what or why, he finds himself genuinely sorry for the girl's discomfort. Watanuki ignores the glares of the brown-haired boy as he steps back to comfort the girl.

"I gave you an opportunity, it's your fault if you don't take it," Watanuki mutters under his breath before smiling down at the girl.

"It's okay," the girl says, smiling back up at him. Her smile makes Watanuki feel warm somehow. It's a familiar, comforting feeling, rather than a romantic one.

The other children, including the brown-haired boy have all disappeared around the corner, leaving Watanuki alone with the girl.

"Eriol-kun…," the girl starts, and it takes Watanuki a moment before he realizes that the girl is addressing him.

"Is there anything that frightens you, Eriol-kun?"

There are many things that frighten Watanuki, but he only finds one thought bubbling up from his lips as the girl disappears around the corner.

"Causing you pain," Watanuki whispers without knowing why and suddenly is overcome with a terrible headache.

"Oi!"

Watanuki feels a hand on his cheek, slapping him and slowly opens his eyes to see Doumeki standing over him.

"Gah! What the hell are you doing you pervert!?"

"You passed out in the street," Doumeki says in his monotone voice, as if that explained anything.

"Well stop hovering over me you big creep!"

Watanuki stands and Doumeki backs away a bit, still staying a bit too close for Watanuki's comfort.

"Let's go," Doumeki says, starting to walk again.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Watanuki shrieks, but he falls in step with Doumeki all the same. Staring at Doumeki's deadpan face for a moment, Watanuki wonders exactly what Doumeki is afraid of.

If only Watanuki had seen Doumeki's reaction when he had suddenly passed out in the middle of the street.

**A/N:** yuMeNami, yeah I'm not sure exactly when it happened as we only see Doumeki walking in the rain. I wanted to emphasize the 'hitsuzen' aspect of the scene and the morning worked better for that. Thanks for the review.


	6. The Look on his Face

**#6. The Look on his Face.**

_"To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from it's exterior, shines with the truth within the soul." -Mahatma Ghandi_

He hadn't expected a 'thank you.'

Hell, he hadn't expected to feel the odd tingling sensation signaling that Watanuki had accepted his gift of half an eye. But after that feeling, things had changed. A weight had settled upon Watanuki's shoulders, and the tense atmosphere had only increased after Doumeki had given his blood in order for Watanuki to survive.

It built until this moment on the street. It was an ordinary street, framed by telephone poles, power lines, and the wall of a nearby property. They had walked over this spot dozens of times on their way back and forth to school, and it had never held such significance.

And after Watanuki uttered these words, spitting them out with only a mild sound of distaste, Doumeki momentarily forgot himself.

He had to see the look on Watanuki's face.

Was it smiling in gratitude? Cringing with annoyance? Heated with anger? Doumeki leaned up to catch a glimpse of a blush on Watanuki's face before the boy sputtered, throwing one arm in front of his eyes and using the other to flail his school briefcase around wildly.

"W-what?" Watanuki yells. Doumeki can't help but inwardly grin at the lack of anger in the blushing boy's stutter.

"Nothing," Doumeki says, his face unchanged. "I just wondered what kind of expression you had."

**A/N:** If anyone has had the chance to see the anime OVA adaptation of this, the shots, animation, and film angles of this scene are all perfect. It's very beautiful.

**Thank you to:** _YuMeNami, Her Diary_, and _uniFsky_ for their reviews. I'm glad you have all appreciated these so far!


	7. The Book of Memories

I don't own anything about xxxHolic except for a whole shelf of manga and a few DVDs.

**#7. The Book of Memories**

"_Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us." –Oscar Wilde_

Shizuka Doumeki's handwriting was often messy. In fact, when it was his turn to lead the class, his printouts were often sent back to him beforehand, with a request from the teacher to copy them over again, more legibly.

"Doumeki…I don't…remember…anything."

Shizuka narrowed his eyes and looked up from the small book in which he was writing so fastidiously. He could remember the trembling in Watanuki's voice, and the utter defeat in the boy's eyes.

It just wasn't right. Kimihiro Watanuki didn't give up like that. Hell, this was the same kid who had tried to kick him down a flight of stairs just yesterday in an eerie reenactment of their first meeting.

Shizuka made a small affirmative noise to himself and carefully jotted down a note on a separate piece of paper to include that incident as well, before returning to the book.

The next day, Shizuka shoved the small book into Watanuki's hands, after confirming that Watanuki had remembered to bring his bento for lunch.

"Here."

Watanuki turned the book over a few times in his hands before an enraged look contorted itself across his face.

"A composition notebook!? You want me to do your homework for you now? Forget it!"

Shizuka shook his head, and then leaned over Watanuki's shoulder, flipping the composition notebook open, so that Watanuki could read a few passages.

"You said you were having trouble remembering things," Shizuka said.

Watanuki quickly edged himself away from the taller boy, and skimmed a few paragraphs. His face become redder and redder, as he continued, finally closing the book with crisp, 'Slam!'

"They're all about you," Watanuki spat.

Shizuka shrugged, fully prepared to shove his fingers into his ears if Watanuki's voice reached beyond a certain decibel level.

"It was all I could remember."

"Well, as usual, you have stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong," Watanuki said imperiously.

"I don't remember ever asking for, or saying to anyone, that I required your help!"

With a look of irritation, the boy tucked the journal underneath his arm and stomped down the school corridor, mumbling to himself about 'stupid Doumeki, his impeccable handwriting, and why did Doumeki always have to be good at everything.'

Shizuka smiled. He'd settle for a bruised ego over a broken spirit any day.

**A/N:** Haven't updated this in a long time, eh? (As it has been with pretty much all of my stories.) Anyway, thanks to _yuMeNami, Potpourri, IWillBeBlackStar_, and _Foolish Mortal_ for their reviews! They mean more than you guys know.


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